Beauty Buy: Conair You Curl

Ever since I bought the Conair You Curl Curling Wand at Target a few months ago I have been meaning to do a post, as I have been very pleased with it's performance. My hair is naturally straight-it isn't stick straight and it does have the slightest bit of natural body, but if I want curls or waves of any kind I need to use some type of styling tool. Curling irons and I do not get along-I must confess that I can never figure out how to use them without getting a very not-cute clamp mark in my hair. Hot rollers are too complicated for me to use on my own hair-I have to get someone else to do them for me. I had seen curling wands and thought I would give one a try, since they do not have the annoying clamp that curling irons have-you simply wrap your hair around the barrel and hold for 5-8 seconds. The Conair YouCurl I bought has a tapered barrel that ranges from 1" to 0.5" and it also comes with a heat protective glove for the hand that you use to wrap your hair around the curling wand. The curling wand itself is pretty user-friendly. Any difficulties I have are due to my hair, which can be tricky for me to work with because it is relatively thick overall, but the individual strands are fine and slippery. It helps me to divide my hair into three layers, pin the top two layers out out of the way, and curl the bottom layer first. My hair holds the curl I get from the Conair You Curl very well-and I don't need to use any hairspray. Depending on your hair type and how well it tends to hold curl you might need to use some. 

Conair You Curl Curling Wand

Natural texture of my hair:

My hair curled with Conair YouCurl:

-L

xoxo

Beauty Buy: Kate Spade Twirl

My newest beauty obsession is Kate Spade Twirl perfume. I had been wanting to try Twirl for awhile because I love Kate Spade. Months ago I had seen some at TJ Maxx but didn't buy any. Last week I found a bottle of Twirl again at TJ Maxx and this time I bought it. I absolutely love this fragrance and it might be my new favorite perfume! The Kate Spade website describes Twirl as a mixture of pink watermelon, blackberry, and red currant with luminous musks and French macaron. You really have to smell it yourself to appreciate it. I wish that there was a way to incorporate a scratch & sniff patch onto this blog! Twirl is a great perfume to wear year-round and for all occasions. As much as I love my Lilly Pulitzer Beachy perfume, I was starting to feel silly wearing it in the winter. I used to wear Banana Republic's classic scent but hadn't seen any at the outlet recently. Kate Spade Twirl provides a perfect fragrance to switch to while my Lilly perfume is out of season. While you can order it directly from Kate Spade, I recommend searching your local TJ Maxx to see if they have some. You can save a lot of money and in case you don't like the scent (which I highly doubt will be the case), you won't have invested a lot of money in trying it. I was so impressed with Twirl that I actually bought another bottle at a different TJ Maxx yesterday, so that I would have a back-up for whenever my current bottle runs out. In addition to smelling fabulous, Twirl comes in the most precious packaging. But of course you wouldn't expect anything less from Kate Spade!

Do you have a favorite perfume? Where do you get it? Do you buy directly from the designer or cosmetics counter or do you like to bargain hunt for fragrances at TJ Maxx?

-L

xoxo

New Beauty Buy: Cover Girl Smoothers BB Cream

I am not one to splurge on beauty products and get almost all my makeup at Target. Last week I decided to try out a tinted moisturizer and picked up this Cover Girl Smoothers BB cream that functions primarily as a tinted moisturizer and SPF 15 sunscreen. Normally I just wear a little bit of foundation on my face (and often skip it if I'm not going anywhere important), but I have read in style magazines about the importance of using a moisturizer. They recommend tinted moisturizer as a great option for lightweight coverage. I have been pleased so far with my Cover Girl Smoothers tinted moisturizer. It is not greasy at all and blends easily. It doesn't provide a lot of coverage but if you don't want to put on full foundation it's a great way to subtly enhance your skin tone. At some point when I will try it underneath foundation for when I want more significant coverage. This BB cream is also supposed to improve skin elasticity. The package says it won't clog pores and I haven't had any issues. I also like that it comes in three shades: fair to light, light to medium, and medium to dark. This takes the guesswork out of choosing the correct color for your skin tone. I went with the light to medium. Overall Cover Girl Smoothers BB cream is a good inexpensive choice for a daily moisturizer with sunscreen and sheer lightweight coverage.

Have any of y'all used Cover Girl Smoothers BB cream as a tinted moisturizer before? What is your usual skin makeup routine?

-L

xoxo

Beauty Buy:The Best Top Coat

Essie Good To Go Fastest Drying Top Coat

I love having painted nails and I actually don't mind painting them, but I absolutely hate waiting for them to dry! I think that they are dry but then do something and mess them up because they weren't actually dry even though I soaked my hands in ice water for several minutes to harden the polish plus waited plenty of time afterwards. The most frustrating is when I paint my nails HOURS before bed then the next morning wake up to find imprints in the polish from the sheets. Well this great fast-drying top coat by Essie that I picked up at Ulta a few weeks ago alleviates that problem! This top coat is supposed to quickly dry multiple layers of polish and I have been very happy with it thus far! Also Essie Good To Go doesn't have the harmful chemicals that are in the popular fast-dry top coat Seche Vite. Plus it has a nice shiny finish. Now that I have discovered Essie Good To Go I will be painting my fingernails much more frequently because it won't be such a hassle. 

Have you ever tried Essie Good To Go Fastest Drying Top Coat? What is your favorite fast-dry top coat?

-L

xoxo

Amazing New Beauty Buy

Hope y'all have had a great weekend! I absolutely LOVING the new OPI nail color I bought at Ulta this weekend and wanted to devote a post to it. Saturday afternoon I went to Ulta because I had a coupon. I knew I wanted some OPI polish and at first I was planning to buy the Strawberry Margarita color that Let's Be Preppy had blogged about in a recent post. As I walked back towards the nail polish a display featuring the new OPI Minnie Mouse collection caught my eye. I love all things Disney, and Minnie is my favorite (I have dressed up as her for Halloween twice) so of course I stopped to take a look. A pretty pink shade similar to what I had been looking for caught my eye, so I decided to buy it instead. The color is called "If You Moust You Moust." Too adorable! While I like OPI colors, the clever names are definitely the icing on the cake. The OPI Minnie Mouse collection is (not surprisingly) a selection of different pinks and reds. Some colors have sparkle in them as well. You can check out all the Minnie Mouse colors on the OPI website.

"If You Moust You Moust"

Of course I had to try it out ASAP!

On my fingers...

...and my toes!

What are your favorite nail colors? Are they are an old standby or a new discovery?

-L

xoxo

Friday Favorites!

Hey y'all! I'm back this week with another Friday Favorites post!

Shorts:

J.Crew madras shorts. I was super excited to snag these recently at the J.Crew outlet for 50% off! The 5-inch inseam is perfect and these are great for summer!

Lip Gloss:

Girl Scout Cookie flavored Lip Smackers. After seeing these featured in a recent issue of People Style Watch I knew I had to get my hands on some. I finally found them at Target this week. I got a three-pack with Samoas, Thin Mints, and Trefoil flavors. 

White Jeans:

Joe's Jeans High-waisted Skinny Visionnaire. After searching several weeks for the perfect pair of white jeans I finally found these at a Joe's Jeans outlet store. The exact style I got at the outlet isn't available online but you can find a very similar high-waisted white skinny jean by Joe's here.

Perfume:

Lilly Pulitzer "Beachy." Lilly Pulitzer quit manufacturing perfume over a year ago. However, you can still find it at TJ Maxx and on eBay, Amazon, and the Re-Lilly Facebook page. I was super excited to find a bottle in the "Beachy" scent at TJ Maxx a couple weeks ago and it smells amazing! Plus it comes in a really pretty bottle! Image via Amazon.

Dessert:

Dairy Queen Confetti Cake Blizzard. I had one of these last weekend and it was amazing! It's literally cake and ice cream combined into one delicious concoction! Image via Google.

Quote:

I found this on Pinterest recently. Love it!

New Beauty Buy!

Hope y'all are having a great weekend so far! I want to share with y'all a favorite beauty product I have recently discovered. A couple weeks ago I found this Neutrogena Age Shield face sunblock lotion at Target. It has an SPF 110 and also provides exceptional protection against the UVA rays that contribute to the aging of skin. Plus the formula is oil-free and non greasy. I have started applying it before I put on my make up even on days that I'm not spending lots of time outside. It is also waterproof, although you should always reapply after long periods of swimming or excessive toweling. Although I am blessed with an olive complexion that tans easily I still ALWAYS wear sunscreen when I'm spending time laying out. Even though I'm fine with using SPF 30 on the rest of my body, upping my face protection this summer with an SPF 110 formula that provides superior anti-aging effects just makes me feel really good!
What kind of sunscreen do y'all use on your face?

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday y'all!

Makeup Bag:

Tory Burch cosmetic case. Won through the "12 Days of Tory" Giveaway on their Facebook page.

Bargain Buy:

Lilly Pulitzer Jonni Shirt in Worth Blue Master of the House from Fall 2009 collection. This was the first piece of Lilly clothing I ever bought and I got it for 75% off retail! It pays off to check the sale rack!

Dessert:

Edys Samoas Light Ice Cream. Image via. Hurry and try this limited edition reduced fat flavor while it's still in stores!

Beauty Buy:

Johnson's Clean & Clear Limited Edition Hello Kitty oil absorbing sheets. Too adorable to pass up. I found these at Target.

Cowgirl Boots:

Ariat Heritage Western R-Toe

Sleeveless Top:

Vineyard Vines Sleeveless Park Avenue Plaid Top. A great Vineyard Vines outlet find from last fall!

Song:

"One Way Ticket" by Carrie Underwood. This is my favorite song from the album she just released and I highly recommend downloading it! I have been playing this on repeat since Tuesday. Listen on YouTube and purchase on iTunes.

Printed Shorts:

Lilly Pulitzer Creme Fraiche Shorts from Summer 2010 collection. 

Have a great weekend! xoxo